[HappyJoy]

This is a posting for a friend.

She has a mare that has previously been shown english and western and is a really nice horse with a lot of potential, but has been out of work for ages. Lately she has been riding the mare again, and has gotten to the point where she can walk/trot/halt/back without any trouble and can canter without issues, although she doesn't do this. The mare isn't solid enough at basics to be tuned up on cantering yet.

By the way, when I say "issues" I mean bucking and bolting, primarily.

I rode the mare yesterday, which is something I NEVER thought I would do. She was super relaxed the whole time, and I was really impressed overall. She has great brakes, listens to voice, and responds to seat and leg aids. My friend has really brought her a long way.

85% of the time the mare steers fantastically, but she sometimes refuses or requires a strong arm. It seems as though when she's not turning perfectly it's an attitude thing (this horse is, without a doubt, a real MARE), and not confusion or something of that nature. What is the best way to correct this?

She is ridden in a tom-thumb currently, which is the bit she has always gone in for western. She has excellent brakes and a very soft mouth the 85% of the time that she listens. She is currently being tuned up on neck-reining, and thus is ridden with a combination of neck-reining and a very loose leading rein. My friend has soft hands, so I'm not worried about the leading rein with a tom-thumb. It's never done enough to pick up any kind of contact.

What does bother me is what to do when her steering goes out. I hate to really direct rein her because of the curb action, but it needs to be clear that she is supposed to turn NOW.

Suggestions? Is steering something that will continue to improve with time, or are there special excercises my friend should do with her? Also, I'm not a western person so I don't know much about neck-reining. What is the best way to tune this up for this mare?

Thanks!

[Callie's Mom]

hmm, I am interested to see the answer here as well... my mare is super broke in the bridle but can simply just deny/decide not to listen sometimes as well and like you/your friend I have to resort to grabbing that second rein to tell her "excuse me, I said to turn now!"
She is not marish in general but she is opinionated... my husband says we are 2 peas in a pod - ha!

[PeggySue]

Take her back to the snaffle so when she doesn't respond you can correct her as needed... ditch the tom thumb and find a better balanced and kinder curb bit

[lvmypnt]

Ditto what PS says.

[Callie's Mom]

can it be all about the bit though? (or are you just saying to switch bits so that you can correct them without causing injury?)
Callie tries this in the snaffle and in the myler bit...
she just makes up her mind that she wants to do something else from time to time and stops responding and I have to go to direct reining right then.

[PeggySue]

I am saying go back to the basic and the bit is not allowing the reining needed

[lvmypnt]

Occassional direct reining in a curb bit is not going to "kill" the horse. However, if you have to repeatedly correct her then you need to go back to a snaffle and fix the "hole" in her training. Also, you should try more leg to get your point across before resorting to direct rein.

Also, I dont have a high opinion on the TT. There are better alternatives.

[PeggySue]

many times a horse will refuse when the bit is causing pain also..

[HappyJoy]

I feel like continued riding will make a big differance, too. The mare is ridden with consitant leg cues, and she does well with this.

Having seen this mare ridden by my friend and also riding her myself, I highly doubt she is in any pain.

I'm also not a fan of the tom-thumb, and I've told my friend this, and explained what some of the problems are and how the bit works. However, another friend of hers who really is quite good with horses holds the opinion that TT's are a milder curb than those that don't have a broken mouthpiece. Thus, my friend wants to get a third opinion.

Because of this, I'm not sure if she will be willing to switch bits just yet. I especially don't know if she would be anxious to go down to a snaffle. She does have a regular curb that she might use though.

The steering issue is actually something that I was curious about more than anything. My friend is pretty happy to have the mare working calmly under saddle again, and is just starting to address anything beyond that.

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far!

[PeggySue]

Yes bring her here and we'll show her the "light" LMAO